FMD epidemic farmer’s tragedy of the year

The government made a decision to depopulate and restock Zone 6b PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
The government made a decision to depopulate and restock Zone 6b PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

Farmers in the North eastern part of Botswana under Zone 6b have suffered great pain and yet another loss due to the recurrence of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the region. Mmegi correspondent LESEDI MKHUTSHWA features her best human-interest story which captured the emotions of one of the affected farmers.

The region has over the last two decades been experiencing the recurrence of the FMD due to a number of reasons amongst them elephants destroying the border fence paving way for cattle to move freely between Botswana and Zimbabwe, thus spreading the disease.

The last outbreak of FMD in Zone 6b which is part of the region, took place in April 2010. This year’s outbreak in which the first confirmed cases were recorded in Butale village in August 2022, did not come as a surprise for the pastoral farmers.

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